6 Job Search Tips From Disney’s The Luck of the Irish

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when you avoid getting pinched, try to get kissed, and hunker down in front of your television to watch your favorite Disney Channel Original movie, The Luck of the Irish.

What is it about Disney Channel Original movies that warms our millennial hearts? Is it the bad special effects, mediocre acting, or completely unbelievable story lines? I’m gonna go with ALL of the above. They’re just so good!

There’s no doubt that The Luck of the Irish tops the list in all three categories. If you have not had the privilege of watching this classic, let me give you a quick plot summary.

Jock basketball star Kyle O’Reilly has always been lucky. He’s constantly finding money, shooting three-pointers, and ruling the school. One day he is challenged by a classmate, Bonnie Lopez, to do something other than win basketball games and participate in the school’s cultural festival.

When Kyle asks his parents about his heritage, they avoid his questions, which causes him to explore his Irish roots on his own. He attends an Irish festival at which his lucky gold coin is stolen by an evil leprechaun, Seamus. He then finds out that his gold coin was actually his family’s luck. Chaos ensues as Kyle and his mother begin to turn back into the “wee” people of their homeland. Kyle, Bonnie, and his 200-year-old leprechaun grandfather must work to win the O’Reilly clan’s coin back (without the help of their luck!).

Sounds good, right? It is. But how does this have anything to do with your job search?

I’ll tell you. Here are six job search tips that you can learn by watching The Luck of the Irish.

1. Do your research

Basically all problems could have been avoided in The Luck of the Irish if Kyle O’Reilly had done a little bit of research about his ancestry a couple of years before. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take an interest in it until Bonnie challenges him to. At that point it’s too late.

In your job search, you have to be sure to do your research ahead of time. You want to be able to walk into your interview knowing what the company does and why you would be a good fit. Better yet, with research you can get that interview and land the job by pain-spotting.

2. Practice

When Kyle loses his luck, he realizes that he does not actually know how to play basketball. When Bonnie starts shooting hoops next to him he asks how she got so good. “That’s practice,” she informs him.

Practice isn’t just important when it comes to sports. It is also an integral part of the job search. You should be practicing your industry skills through a side project, blogging, volunteering, or interning.

Not only that, but you should be practicing your job-seeking skills as well. Most likely you’re not going to be an all-star interviewee or networker straight off the bat. It takes practice. We go over some ways to practice interviewing in our post, “Job Interview Coming Up? Read This First.” We also have great advice about practicing networking.

3. Find a mentor

Kyle couldn’t have saved his family’s luck without the help of his 200-year-old grandfather. Now, you probably don’t have one of those to guide you through your job search and career endeavors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also have a mentor.

Check out our posts about why you should have a mentor and how you can find one.

4. Embrace your uniqueness

Kyle has spent the majority of his life being a high school jock and that’s about it. He’s completely uninterested in his family’s heritage or anything other than the next basketball game. When he loses the family’s luck and begins to turn into a leprechaun, he’s totally freaked out. But, at the end of the movie, it’s his leprechaun roots that really make him stand out. Not only is he a baller on the court, but he can also step-dance like Michael Flatley himself.

The climax of the movie is the basketball game between Kyle and the evil leprechaun, Seamus. In order to win back his luck, Kyle bets Seamus that he can beat him at a game of basketball. This is a risky move because Kyle has already seen how good Seamus is at sports and how tricky he can be when it comes to winning bets. Still, he knows it’s the only way he is going to be able to save his family and their luck. So, he makes the bet.

Sometimes in the job search, you’re going to have to take risks. I know this first-hand. I wouldn’t be here, working in San Francisco, if I hadn’t taken a huge risk. It can be scary, but sometimes you just have to take that leap.

6. Think outside the box

*Spoiler alert! Please do not continue reading if you have yet to watch this classic Disney Channel Original Movie.

Kyle knows that Seamus is a tricky, evil leprechaun and the only way to get back his family’s luck is to outwit him. He bets Seamus that he will beat him in a game of basketball. He tells Seamus that if he wins, the O’Reilly luck will be returned and that Seamus must “live forever in the land of my fathers and never leave the shores of Erie again.” Kyle knows that Seamus will think of “Eire” as the Irish word for Ireland and will agree to the bet because he will still be powerful in Ireland. BUT Kyle’s father is not from Ireland—he was born in Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie. Kyle tricks Seamus into being banished to a place where he will have no powers.

Sometimes in your job search you have to think outside the box. Be careful. Not every industry is interested in a creative résumé, but if you are looking for a job in a field like social media or photography then be sure to show how creative you are.

It would definitely be nice if we all had a little gold coin that could bring us job-seeking luck (not to mention killer step-dancing moves). Unfortunately, even on St. Patrick’s Day, we’re going to need a little more than luck to get a job. Luckily for you, we’ve found quite a few tips from this awesome 2001 made for TV movie that will find you a job faster than you can say, “Saints preserve us!”

Homework time! If you haven’t already, watch The Luck of the Irish. Done? Okay, good. Now we can proceed. Although there were quite a few job-search lessons to be learned from the movie, we have even more for you on our blog. Take a moment to check it out. Then head on over to the AfterCollege site and start exploring your career options.